Intelligent Studying:​The Secret Ways of the Best Students in the World

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Why does it seem that some people can work less, but get more done?How is it that top students can maintain high grades in every class while still having time for things outside of school?

At one point or another, most of us have probably received some advice on how to work and study better: turn off your phone, don't work in your dorm, etc. But, it is human nature to let old habits reign, and the majority of us fail to incorporate these suggestions or dig deeper, despite our intentions. Often, it takes incredibly strong evidence of positive benefits to motivate us into breaking and making our habits. Well consider this: I, and many of my peers at Stanford University, do not credit "raw intelligence" for our success as much as we do our intelligent approaches to learning, productivity, and studying. In fact, many of us were once in the middle of our class, until we discovered the art of "intelligent studying," and became more intelligent in study.

There are smarter ways to get the grades you want than longer nights and less free time

Why most people do not study smart

Many researchers, such as Dr. Steel Piers, author of The Procrastination Equation, argue that at the heart of our inability to change our study habits despite the advice of of professors, parents, and even ourselves is impulsiveness. The immediate gratification caused by studying lazily (read: relaxed, only half-engaged), opening a Facebook tab, or checking your phone, creates reward pathways in your brain that make you want to do it more, and cause you to lose sight of your longer term goals. New ideas or plans to study better therefore quickly fall to the back of our minds, and our habits stay the same. But, as Dr. Piers discusses in his book, it does not have to be this way. Resistance of impulsiveness can be learned, ​and psychological experiments dating all the way back to the classic marshmallow experiment suggest this trait to be a primary indicator of success. An abundance of anecdotal evidence for this can be found just by observing the study methods of top students here at Stanford.

Smarter studying​Smarter studying ranges across all aspects of the learning process, from things as tangible as music choice, to as big as psychological approaches to learning. One of the best ways to improve your focus and grades it to keep up with research in cognitive psychology. This allows you to find many study methods and approaches that work for you, helping you to work smarter, not harder, and see your performance improve.

Smarter music choice is one example of an easy change to your study routine that can have immediate impact on focus and learning. Professor Clifford Nass of Stanford University recently found that music with lyrics, catchy beats, or loud volume can be very detrimental to studying, as it forces your brain into multitasking by demanding attention to process the music [1]. However, audio has also been shown to be effective in bringing the brain's stimulation levels up or down to reach the optimal point for productivity and thought. Choosing the right music then, can enhance the results you see from studying, while poor choice can detract from them. Picking music or background noise that increases your ability to focus and think is a small step but can have tangible results. Lots of steps like this put together is what lets some students optimize their learning and working processes, and stand out even in crowds where they may not be the most intrinsically intelligent, or hardest working. Here at intelligentstudying.com we have many more tips and tricks to implement into your routine, and you can look here if you are looking for some good study music suggestions.

Changing your opinions on learning alone can increase the effectiveness of your studying

In addition to tangible actions, habits, and tricks that boost performance (of which there are lots), smart studying also involves being aware of the very way our psychological state affects studying, learning, and retention. For example, the very way we view learning can have huge impacts on the ability to do it . In one psychological study, a group of children was divided into two groups based on whether they viewed their math abilities as innate, or whether they saw them them as a result of how hard they worked. Children in both groups were given the same three problem sets in the same order: first a very easy one, then an extremely hard one, and finally one just as easy as the first set. The children in both group had no problem with the first problem set, and no children could get any problems on the second set. The interesting part of the study came when the groups were given the final set, as easy as the first. The children who believed their math abilities were innate, could no longer answer these easy questions, while the children believing math ability came from hard work had just an easy of a time with this last set as they did with the first [2]. Most students will hit a point where their math homework suddenly seems like hieroglyphics, be it in elementary school or college. Being aware of the effects that mentality can have on learning and ability, and striving to maintain a good mindset, can be the difference between hitting a wall and stumbling through the course, or taking a deep breadth and conquering one's difficulties. Tell yourself things like you can learn anything, and intelligence is not predetermined, and eventually you will believe it. As the study above, and numerous others show, this belief serves you well. Intelligent studying involves using knowledge about psychology, like the study described above, to tackle studying in a more prepared way than everyone else.

There are many of what some would call "study hacks" that will help you realize more productivity and learning, though this label does not quite do justice to the breadth of methods, both mental and physical, that there are available. Following are just a few examples of some great ways to take initiative and try today. Trying just a few small changes will open your eyes to the power of smarter studying, and motivate you to make more improvements. Eventually, you can become a near fully optimized learner, taking advantage of your potential without having to grind for hours on end, night after night. For even more suggestions than those below, IntelligentStudying.com is a great resource to guide you in becoming a smarter studier.

Get More Omega-3: Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the building blocks for cells and neurons throughout the body, including the brain. However, it is estimated that 99% of Americans' daily intake of Omega-3's is too low. With insufficient Omega-3 levels, it is believed that your ability to form neuron connections and grey matter in your brain is hindered. Many of my peers at Stanford try to get as much Omega-3 as possible every day, and firmly believe that it positively effects a wide variety of their mental functions. Omega-3 can be gotten from fish, nuts, and other healthy foods. However, it can be difficult for college students to stick to a diet of such things, and Omega-3 supplements are a very easy and common way to get enough of the fatty acids your brain needs. We have a whole page on the various supplements that can give your brain a boost, where you can also find our recommendations for Omega-3 brands.

Omega-3 is an important part of brain function and development, but most Americans do not get nearly enough from their diet

Use simple memory tricks: There are tons of cool and effective tricks to memorize things out there. Memorization tricks have been around for millennia, and some of the ones that are still most effective today were developed by the ancient Roman orators who needed to remember hours of speech. In the digital age memory has become much less important and the skills much less well known, but there are still times when great memory can serve you well and make studying easier. There's lots of great tricks, and you can read about them here. A classic trick that remains one of my favorites is associating a very memorable (think very weird) image with the item you want to remember, and link the two. Sounds strange, but if you can master this and move on to building entire mental palaces, your memorization abilities will skyrocket.

Turn Off Your Cell Phone: There are many reasons why you should simply never have your phone out while studying, and you can find the full list in this article on common distractions. One of the most convincing ones for me, is that going back and forth between your phone and homework can actually lead to information being absorbed by the wrong parts of the brain! Using your phone activates a different part of the brain than your homework, and so instead of storing information from your homework in the hippocampus where it can be processed and retrieved, it goes to the striatum and is unlikely to be recalled.

﻿Having your phone out during homework not only makes you less productive, but activates the wrong parts of your brain leading to less effective studying even during the times you put it down

Read On The Subject: Just reading an article or a few pages of a book on the subject of better learning and study habits will keep you aware of your own and help you improve a little every day. Reading on the various aspects of learning helps you internalize the mindset and begin to see studying and learning in different lights. Even if you only have 10 minutes to read on the subject a day, the time you invest will pay off many times. Sign up for our email list to get notified of new articles, studies, and more, and check out our list of recommended readings for some great suggestions.

Many of my peers at Stanford, as well as myself, were not always top students. It is never too late to incorporate smarter study techniques into your habits, and become a better student through intelligent approaches, not through just more time spent studying. It is a skill that many fail to take advantage of, once mastered it pays dividends for life and will help achieve the grades and scores you want.